Workflows and Templates

Workflows are a powerful tool for designing and building Projects, allowing you to control how tasks move through different stages and how those stages interact.

Creating Workflows

Workflows are created when creating new annotation Projects, and when creating Workflow templates.

Manage Collaborators allows you to seamlessly add users to your Workflow as collaborators, which can be added to different stages of the workflow.
Add stage allows you to add more stages to your Workflow.

Workflow Stages

This section contains details for all Workflow library components.

Only ANNOTATE, CONSENSUS, and AGENT nodes can be the first node after the START node in a workflow.

To add library components to the canvas, click the Add stage button and then drag-and-drop the components onto the canvas.

Start

Start represents the beginning an annotation task through your Workflow, and can therefore only be used once in a Project. It must have a connector linking it to the next stage. It displays the Datasets connected to the Project, and the selected Ontology.

Annotate

Annotate represents an annotation stage, during which a group of annotators adds labels to tasks assigned to them.Click an Annotate card on the canvas to edit. Click x next to the name to exit edit mode.Click the Edit icon to edit the name of the annotation stage.

Annotation instructions can be added in the Project’s Settings after the Project is created.

The stage contains all available annotators selected by default. Specific annotators can be selected in the Selective tab. Only collaborators that are added to the Workflow are available for selection. Click Add to confirm the selection.

Only collaborators with the Annotator or the Annotator & Reviewer roles are available for selection. All Admins and Team Managers are part of all annotation stages and therefore cannot be added, or removed.

A Webhook can optionally be added to an annotation stage to send out notifications whenever a task is submitted. Click the Edit icon next to Webhook and add the URL of the server you want to receive notifications on. Once a valid URL is added and the Workflow saves, a Signing Secret becomes available that can be used to verify that incoming notifications are genuinely from Encord.Advanced SettingsAllow task reassessment: When enabled, annotators can see and review the same task again later in the workflow. Default: Disabled.Require skip reasonSpecify whether annotators must provide a reason before skipping a task.Priority on re-entry Specify when a task re-enters this stage, that task priority is automatically set to this value (0 = lowest, 100 = highest).Task visibility: When enabled, users with the Annotator, Reviewer, or Annotator & Reviewer roles can only see tasks assigned to them. Admins and Team Managers can view all tasks, including unassigned ones.

Routers

A Router splits the path that annotate and review tasks take through the workflow. Two different types of router are available:

Percentage router.
Collaborator router.

Percentage router

Pathways that data units take through the Workflow can be split according to a certain percentage of annotation tasks. For example, 50% of tasks get sent to review stage A, while the other 50% of tasks get sent to review stage B, splitting the workload between two different groups of reviewers.

Once the router selects a route for a given task, it is routed the same way until the routing percentages are updated. This means that if a task passes through a percentage router and is routed to review stage A on its first pass, it is routed to review stage A on each consecutive pass.

Routing percentages can be changed after Project creation. Changing routing percentages resets the percentage router, and may alter the pathway taken by a given task.

Collaborator router

Determine the paths that data units take through your workflow based on users. For example, if user A completes a task it gets sent to be reviewed by review stage A, while a task completed by user B gets reviewed in review stage B.

The Or else option accounts for all collaborators not explicitly added to the router. In this example they are directed to review stage C.

Click Add pathway to choose a subset of collaborators that form the pathway. - only collaborators present in the previous stage can be selected. There is no limit on the amount of pathways you can create.
Click Add to finish a pathway.

Collaborators can only be added to the Router after an input is connected.

Review

Review represents a review stage where tasks labeled in an annotation stage are reviewed.

To attach the Rejected node of the review stage to another review stage, contact support@encord.com

Click a Review card that has been added to the canvas to edit. Click x next to the name to exit edit mode.Click the Edit icon to edit the name of the review stage. This is particularly useful when your Project has multiple review stages.

The stage contains all available reviewers selected by default. Specific reviewers can be selected by clicking the Review component, and choosing the Selective tab seen above. Only collaborators that have been added to the Workflow or the Project. Click Add to confirm the selection.

Only collaborators with the Reviewer and Annotator & Reviewer roles are available for selection. All Admins and Team Managers are part of all review stages and cannot be removed.

Advanced SettingsAllow task reassessment: When enabled, reviewers can review the same task multiple times as it moves through the Workflow. This also allows a user to review tasks they previously annotated. Default: Enabled.

Strict review

Strict review is enabled by default, but can be disabled under Advanced settings.

Strict review ensures that crucial details are not overlooked during a review stage. Strict review aids in assuring higher accuracy when reviewing annotations.Strict review stages do not auto-advance to the next review task after bulk approving or rejecting labels. Reviewers can make adjustments to their review, and add comments when rejecting tasks with missing annotations.

Video Tutorial - Strict review & change review judgment

Whole task review

Allows reviewers to approve or reject the entire task with a single decision instead of reviewing each label individually.

User assignment restriction

The User assignment restriction feature prevents team members working on tasks in the current stage that they have done in previous stages. This can prevent individuals with the Annotator & Reviewer role from being assigned their own annotations to review.This feature does not apply to users with the Admin or Team Manager roles, since they are added to each stage by default and cannot be removed.

Enable the toggle to implement User assignment restriction.

Task visibility

Show or hide unassigned tasks in the Task queue for Reviewers.

Agent

The Agent component represents an Agent. It triggers a custom operation each time a task passes through the Agent stage. The exact operation being triggered is configured using the Encord SDK.To fully connect an Agent to other Workflow components you must add pathways that allow you to create connections from the Agent stage to other components. To add a pathway, click + next to Add pathway and give the pathway a meaningful name. Repeat this step for each additional pathway you want to add.

Learn more about Agents in our Agent section

Export

Export represents a stage in a Project’s Workflow that automatically syncs labels to your cloud storage as tasks pass through it.Every task that passes through the Export stage is synced to your chosen storage destination. Once the sync completes, tasks automatically continue to the next stage in your Workflow. This allows you to build a fully automated labeling pipeline, from task creation through to label delivery, without any manual exports. For more information, see How to Export Labels.

Export format

When configuring a cloud Export node, you can choose the format in which labels are written to your storage destination. The Format dropdown offers two options:

Encord JSON (default) — exports labels in Encord’s native JSON format.
YOLO — exports labels directly in YOLO format, suitable for use with YOLO-based object detection, segmentation, or OBB training pipelines.

The YOLO export format option may not be visible to all users. Contact your Encord account team if you do not see this option.

YOLO export settings

When you select YOLO as the export format, a Class mapping selector appears. This selector lists the ontology external-ID namespaces configured on the Project’s Ontology. Encord uses the selected namespace to resolve ontology features to YOLO class numbers at export time.

Class numbers are resolved live from the Ontology’s current external IDs each time a task is exported — they are not snapshotted when the node is saved. If you update your Ontology’s external IDs after configuring this node, the exported class numbers will reflect the updated mapping.

Namespace names are case-sensitive. Ensure the namespace name you select here matches the name configured in your Ontology’s external IDs settings exactly.

Existing Export nodes already configured with YOLO format remain visible and editable even when the YOLO_LABEL_EXPORT feature flag is disabled, so that existing configurations are not hidden or lost.

To configure YOLO export on a cloud Export node:

Before configuring YOLO export, ensure your Ontology has at least one external-ID namespace configured. The Class mapping selector is disabled if no namespaces exist on the Ontology.

Select YOLO format

In the Export node settings panel, open the Format dropdown and select YOLO.

Select a class mapping namespace

Under Class mapping, select the ontology external-ID namespace that maps your ontology features to YOLO class numbers.A preview panel displays up to 5 feature-to-class-number mappings for the selected namespace, so you can confirm the correct namespace is chosen.

Configure ontology mappings (if needed)

If no namespaces are available, the Class mapping selector is disabled and a prompt appears. Click Configure Ontology Mapping to open the Ontology’s external IDs settings page in a new tab and set up your YOLO class IDs before returning to save the node.

Save the Workflow

Click Save to save the Workflow. If YOLO format is selected but no class mapping namespace is chosen, the Workflow cannot be saved and displays the error: YOLO export requires a class mapping to be selected.

The Workflow graph node card displays the selected format and, when YOLO is chosen, the name of the selected class mapping namespace — making it easy to review your export configuration at a glance.

Complete

Complete represents the stage of a Project at which a task is marked as complete, and can therefore only be used once per project.Having passed through your Workflow, it was deemed to be acceptable data for the training of machine learning algorithms. Complete tasks can still be accessed by admins.Optionally, add a Webhook to this stage to receive notifications whenever a task arrives at the Complete stage. Adding a valid Webhook URL and saving the Workflow generates a Signing Secret that can be used to verify that incoming notifications are genuinely from Encord.

In Consensus Projects, tasks in the COMPLETE and ARCHIVE blocks CANNOT be reopened.

Parallelization

Parallelization splits a single annotation task into independent branches, each handling specific Ontology classes. Different annotators can work on different branches simultaneously, allowing specialized teams to annotate different parts of the same task in parallel.For example, assign one team to annotate vehicles, another to pedestrians, and a third to cyclists - all working on the same data concurrently instead of sequentially.

Parallelization vs Consensus

Parallelization assigns different classes to different annotators in parallel.
Consensus assigns the same task to multiple annotators independently and compares their results. Use Parallelization to split work by class. Use Consensus to measure agreement.

Configure branchesEach branch represents one parallel stream of work. You can have up to 10 branches per Parallelization node.To add a branch:

Click Add branch in the settings panel. A new branch appears with a default name.
Click a branch to expand its settings.
Specify a Branch name. Give the branch a descriptive name, such as the class group or team responsible for it (example: “Vehicles”, “Pedestrians”).
Specify the Classes. Select the ontology classes that annotators in this branch will label. A class can only belong to one branch. If a class is already assigned to another branch, it is disabled in the selector and a conflict warning is shown.

Required classes are marked with a red indicator in the class selector.
You cannot modify branches while tasks are actively in progress on the node. Complete or reassign active tasks before making changes.

Assign annotators to a branch. Each branch has an independent Annotate sub-node that controls who can work on it.
Add a review stage to a branch. Each branch can optionally include its own review step. Branches can have review enabled or disabled independently.

When a reviewer approves a task, it returns to the Parallelization node. When a reviewer rejects a task, it is sent back to the annotation step within the same branch. To remove a review stage from a branch, click the remove icon next to the review sub-node in the branch settings.How tasks flow through a Parallelization node

A task enters the Parallelization node from the upstream node.
The node creates one sub-task per branch.
Each sub-task is assigned to the annotators configured for that branch.
Annotators in each branch see only the classes assigned to their branch.
If a branch has review enabled, the sub-task moves to the review step after annotation.

Once all branches are Complete, the task exits the Parallelization node and continues through the Workflow.

Constraints and limits

Maximum 10 branches per Parallelization node.
Each ontology class can be assigned to only one branch. Assigning the same class to multiple branches is not allowed.
Branch configuration cannot be changed while tasks are active in the node.
At least one branch is required. A Parallelization node with no branches is invalid.

Tips

Organize branches around annotator specialisms. Teams with domain expertise in specific object types will label faster and more accurately when scoped to those classes.
Add review to high-priority or high-complexity branches only, rather than all branches, to keep overall cycle time down.
Use descriptive branch names. Branches appear in the task queue and admin views, making it easier to monitor progress per class group.
If all branches cover the same classes, consider using a Router node instead to distribute tasks by percentage or priority rather than by class.

Managing collaborators

User permissions

Permission	Admin	Team Manager	Reviewer	Annotator	Annotator & Reviewer
Attach / Detach datasets	✅	❌	❌	❌	❌
Attach / Switch ontology	✅	❌	❌	❌	❌
Delete	✅	❌	❌	❌	❌
Invite team members	✅	✅	❌	❌	❌
Manage team permissions	✅	✅	❌	❌	❌
Manage admins	✅	❌	❌	❌	❌
Annotate & review tasks	✅	✅	Review only	Annotate only	✅
Confirm annotations	✅	✅	❌	❌	❌
Control assignments and status	✅	✅	❌	❌	❌

Workflow stage level collaborators

Collaborators can be added to a workflow stage by clicking + on a card that has been added to the workflow canvas.

Learn how to add collaborators to different stages of a Project by visiting the relevant sections in this document:

Annotate collaborators.
Review collaborators.
Collaborator type Router.

If no collaborators are specified at a given stage, all users with permissions are added by default. For example, if no collaborators are specified at an Annotate stage then all collaborators with the following roles are added by default:

Annotator
Annotator & Reviewer
Team Manager
Admin

Templates

Workflow templates allow you to save and reuse your most common workflows. You can then use these templates to create new annotation Projects, ensuring consistency and efficiency.

Create Templates

New Workflow templates can be created each time a new Workflow is created.

Navigate to the Projects section of the Encord platform.
Navigate to the Templates tab.
Click Create template.

Create your Workflow. Ensure your Workflow has a title.
Click the Create workflow template button. The template is saved in the custom templates section.

Edit Templates

You can edit Workflow templates after they have been created.

Navigate to the Projects section of the Encord platform.
Navigate to the Templates tab.
Select the template you want to Edit.
Click the Edit button in the top-right.
Edit the template.
Click Save changes.

You can not edit the start node.

Template Collaborators

Template collaborators are annotators and reviewers that can be assigned to Workflow stages.

Invite Collaborators

Click the Collaborators button.

Select a role. You can assign the following roles to collaborators:

Annotator: Labels tasks in the Project.
Reviewer: Reviews and validates labeled tasks.
Annotator & Reviewer: Performs both annotation and review tasks.
Team Manager: Assigns tasks to users and manages Project collaborators.
Admin: Grants full administrative control over the Project. This action is irreversible.

Type the email address of the user you want to add and select the user from the list.
Click the Add button to add the user with the specified role.

Manage Users

Click the Collaborators button.

Click the Manage tab.

Change collaborator role: Click the dropdown and select a new role.
Remove collaborator: Click the red Remove icon in the remove column.

Manage Template Access

Template Access determines which users can edit, share, and delete the template.

Invite Users

Click the Manage template access button.

Search for the collaborator or the group you want to add. Multiple collaborators and groups can be added at once.

Only group members are added when a group is assigned to a Project. Group managers are not included.

Select a role. You can assign the following roles to collaborators:
- User: Can view the template.
- Admin: Grants full administrative control over the template. This action is irreversible.
Click Add.

Edit User Role

Only template admins can modify collaborator roles. Admin roles cannot be changed, not even by other admins.

Click the Manage template access button.

Click the user role in the Role column
Select a new role from the dropdown.

Remove User

Click the Manage template access button.

Click the red Remove icon in the remove column.

Delete Templates

To delete a template, click the red Delete icon next to the template.

Editing Workflows

Only ANNOTATE, CONSENSUS, and AGENT nodes can be the first node after the START node in a workflow.

Workflow Editing	Description
Add new stages	Annotate stages: Add manual annotation steps Review stages: Insert quality control layers Consensus stages: Add agreement-based validation Agent stages: Integrate AI model predictions Router stages: Add task routing/distribution logic
Delete stages	Remove empty stages: Delete stages with zero tasks System validation: Automatic checking prevents problematic deletions Any stage containing tasks cannot be deleted. Move tasks to a different stage before deleting a stage.
Modify workflow connections	Change edge directions: Alter task flow paths Expand router pathways: Add new routing options Adjust percentage routing: Modify router distribution percentages
Workflow management	Save changes: Persist workflow modifications Re-name: Change the name of stages Pause project: Stop task flow during Workflow modifications Track last edited: See modification history and who made changes. Encord tracks all edits so if we need to investigate / roll back we are capable of doing so. Not all logs are exposed to customers.

Edit Workflows from the Annotate > Projects > [select a Project] > Workflow page.

You CANNOT delete stages that contain tasks. If you want to delete a stage that has tasks, first move the tasks to a different stage and then delete the stage.
You CANNOT delete COMPLETE stages.

Edit standard Workflows

Edit Consensus Workflows

Limitations

Editing Workflows has the following limitations:

Cannot change an Annotate stage to a Review stage. You must delete the stage and add a different stage.
Cannot change fundamental stage configurations for Consensus stages.
Cannot modify completed tasks. Historical task data remains unchanged
Cannot delete labels/annotations. Existing annotation data is protected by blocking deleting stages that have tasks.

Get Started

Quick Start (By Role)

Data

Fundamentals

Annotate & Review

Label and Model Evaluation

Users and Workspaces

Workflows and Templates

Creating Workflows